Major Objections to be Negotiated During Sales

Most objections that salespeople encounter are placed into the six categories. Know how you will handle each situation before it occurs. An advanced idea about how you handle these objections will help you become a better salesperson by improving your image as a problem-solver. We are going to explore the four most common uses of objections.

Hidden Objection

Prospects that ask trivial, unimportant questions or conceal their feelings beneath a veil of silence have hidden objections. They do not discuss their true objections to a product because they may feel that they are not your business, they are afraid objections will offend you or they may not feel your sales call is worthy of full attention.

Such prospects may have a good conversation with you without revealing their true feelings. You have to ask questions and carefully listen to know which questions to ask to reveal their real objections to your product. Learning how to determine what questions to ask a prospect and how to ask them are skills developed by conscious effort over time. Your ability to ask probing questions improves with each sales call if you try to develop this ability.

With prospects who are unwilling to discuss their objections or who may not know why they are reluctant to buy, be prepared to smoke out objections by asking questions. Do what you can to reveal the objections. Consider the following questions:

• What would it take to convince you?
• What causes you to say that?
• Let us consider this, suppose my product would [do what prospect wants] … then you would want to consider it, wouldn’t you?
• Tell me, what is really on your mind?

Uncovering hidden objections is not always easy. Observe the prospect’s tone of voice, facial expressions and physical movements. Pay close attention to what the prospect is saying.

You may have to read between the lines occasionally to find the buyer’s true objections. All these factors will help you discover whether objections are real or simply an excuse to cover a hidden objection.

Prospects may not know consciously what their real objections are. Sometimes they claim that the price of a product is too high. In reality, they may be reluctant to spend money on anything. If you attempt to show that your price is competitive, the real objection remains unanswered and no sale results. Remember, you cannot convince anyone to buy until you understand what a prospect needs to be convinced of.

If, after answering all apparent questions, the prospect is still not sold, you might subtly attempt to uncover the hidden objection. You might ask the prospect what the real objection is. The direct inquiry should be used as a last resort because it indirectly may amount to calling the prospect a liar, but if it is used carefully, it may enable the salesperson to reveal the prospect’s true objection. Smoking out hidden objections is an art form developed over time by skilful salespeople. Its successful use can greatly increase sales. This approach should be used carefully, but if it enables the salesperson to uncover a hidden objection, then it has served its purpose.